BearFan PHX

Im in North Phoenix, N 7th st just north of the 101. You?

I respect that. I respect Polian too. One thing that troubles me, and it was asked in the press conference, is what do the people interviewing these candidates know about the current trends in the NFL? The answer that was given was that Halas was old and he knew what was up. But Im not sure football was evolving as quickly or as subtly at that time. Nagy was one iteration, maybe 2 years too late. Its always the next thing, and Nagy's thing didnt change. Will Polian know who is inventive, and who is a retread? I said earlier that one way or another, there is a football guy somewhere in the structure who reports to ownership, so if thats the GM - McCaskey connection fine. But who's job is safe to recommend they fire the GM? Is that on McCaskey? It might have been nice to have one more guy between them. A guy you dont have to fire when the GM needs replacing. I will hold my real feelings until I see who they hire. But if they mess this up, I will be so disgusted after all these years, i dont know what I might do. I REALLY want the Bears to be a real football team,. but i cant root for another joke for 4 more years either. At some point we need to have self respect. I hope they sell sometime soon. But Im not gonna sit here and disrespect your optimism Pixote. Youve been thru this a long time, and earned my respect.

you guys rock. the bears should be interviewing all of you! you didnt need to figure out the whys!!

thanks very much!

I AM! thank you.

no I mean when Fangio left we could have promoted him. It was probably too early, but the same was true of Desai. EDIT - I forgot about Pagano. and of course I would have signed Pagano over a young Staley OR Desai at the time too. Im just saying, guys come through our building, and I wonder if the leadership even knows it.

Hey all, After 35 years in NYC (I grew up outside of Chicago), in September, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona. It's great here. MODs: I'd love to change my display name to "BearFan PHX" if possible? I could always make a new profile if necessary, but I'd love to keep my stats, and either way I'll keep the Willie Galimore jersey! And when I do change my name, I thought all of you, lovers, haters and indifferent alike would want to know that it was still me, and not someone new. That's all Mods please let me know? Thanks!

I'm not sold on Morocco Brown, he has some bad draft choices to his name (Manziel!) but Champ Kelly is a good one. He was an elite player, so he gets it, and has proven the other skills since. Im not sure how I feel about Frazier. Id like an offensive guy, but he is definitely worth interviewing.

agree

I agree with you that the structure isn't the problem, it's the people in it. On every team, at some point the highest ranking football guy still reports to ownership. The real question here is who they choose for GM, and whether they let that person do his job without monkeying. I dont trust the McCaskeys to get this right at all. Or worse, if they do make a solid hire, by being smart OR lucky, will they let them do their job?

Cool, but that's not what the word "Equity" which is in her title means. You're describing HR.

If Tanesha is there to ensure that more minority candidates are considered, then fine. I find it hard to believe that they don't have a complete list of talented people already, or that there could be a minority coach who would be a good hire for our head coaching position that wasnt already on their radar just based on his abilities and accomplishments, but maybe she helps get more entry level assistants into the pipeline. Thats fine. But if it means anything like the word equity that Nagy wore, and that her new position title includes, then they can start by making sure half the roster is female. We need more Chinese defensive linemen. We need more people in wheelchairs in the defensive secondary. Where are the 400 pound receivers? Why do the McCaskeys have more money than we do? Equality is giving everyone a chance to compete. Equity is determining outcomes on ethnic groups (or gender, sexual preference etc) over ability. it is the opposite of sports. This team cannot consistently win and dominate with these owners. The entire idea of dominating is the opposite of equity. This goes beyond politics. It is a cultural issue, and it is a suicide pill for a sports team. Give me the best coaches and players, and I dont care what gender, sexual preference, skin color, religion etc they are. I really dont. Just care about winning and nothing else.

When Ted said he didnt regret hiring Matt and Ryan because they check a lot of boxes I think we got all the information we needed. Also, I'd like to point out the difference between equality and equity, since Nagy wore a hat proclaiming equity, and they have just hired someone with the word in their title. Equality is a fair playing field, with equal access to everything you need to succeed. That is an admirable goal and no one with any heart opposes it. It is widely supported by people all across political, ethnic, religious etc backgrounds. Equity is equality of OUTCOME no matter how hard you do or don't work. It's participation trophies and communism. It's a season that is determined for each team to end 8-8 no matter who scores more points, works harder, runs faster etc. One requirement of equity would be that half your team should be female for example. It is the antithesis of freedom, competition and sports. This is how you find a guy like Nagy to be a compelling hire. He's friendly. He's non threatening. He isnt going to compete with you, he will share with you. There is no way to balance a culture of equity with winning. They are antithetical to each other at their very core. This is the corporatization of the Bears. Say the right stuff while you hold your own wealth and power in the shadows. Please do not mistake this for EQUALITY. In society, equality must mean equal access to education, capital, justice in courts and everything else. No matter what you believe about the current state of those things, EVERYONE agrees that we should share those values. But then the work starts, and people who work longer hours, harder, with better plans and ideas will obviously rise in wealth. This is not how someone who inherited their team thinks. McCaskey is alternately entitled (letting himself off the hook from accountability) and guilty (preaching equity without having ANY intention of actually giving away his wealth). The Bears are pussies. And it's not David Montgomery or Roquan Smith's fault. They know what hard work is. Each has succeeded by outworking their competitors. They dont want equity. They want to win. And the players' work ethic and desire has hidden a lot of the rot in this organization. I'm disgusted by all of this. These are simply not winners. They dont even know what it means.

lol good one

well that would be a better sign!

we had the leagues newest sweetheart defensive coach on our staff as OLB under Fangio. Brandon Staley. He saw how Fangio beat the Rams, and then followed Fangio to Denver, became DC at LA Rams (ironically) and used the same system there to make them #1, and then got the HC position at the Chargers, where he is still building. Staley's scheme is all the rage in the NFL and we run it too. 3-4 with the DL bunched inside playing almost two gap so they can stay in a 2 high safety look to limit the big plays without sacrificing too much stopping the run. It seems to be working against the high powered offenses. Anyway, we had him, didnt see him, or promote him. Fangio saw him. We could have made him DC instead of Desai, and gotten the brilliant innovator. I dont think our corporate structure has any idea what they are doing. I think it may be worse than we even suspect.

Pace has done some good things, and some bad things. Overall, I could see keeping him based on what he's done, despite some of the other things he's done. But to me this isn't the way to make this decision. Assuming you think Pace is a competent GM, but replaceable with a similar talent at least, then I think you decide this based on what attracts the right coach. We are not the only team looking for a leader who can develop a young QB. Either you get a new GM that you think does better picking coaches, or you ask the new coach who he wants grocery shopping for him, which might be an enticement giving us an edge. I know it flips the power balance upside down, because now the coach has some power over the GM, but some coaches ARE the GM, so as long as you have a director of football operations above them to guide and fire them, you can ask a top coach who he wants at GM. And if that helps sell the job, then moving Pace becomes easier. What if an incoming Sean Payton LOVES Pace? What if another guy doesn't? And who is picking the coach or GM, whichever is picked first. I sure hope on Monday we see someone like Pete Carrol retire from coaching to be our Top football guy (if you prefer another name, thats fine for this example). Then you can figure out the coach / GM problem however you want and in whichever order gives you the best leverage in hiring the guy you think is most critical.

makes good sense

fair enough. The distinction is that Rodgers is a generational talent, but Brady isnt that physical specimen, he just wins. A lot.

Rodgers is a special talent. Brady is an unstoppable winner. Both are first ballot hall of famers.

If we can find someone as tough as Harbaugh, who will instill a culture of accountability, and inspire smash mouth play, but who is easier to deal with, then great! I just dont want to trade those things away for a guy we like better. if i could have any couch id take Bill Belichick, so I am ok with someone as tough as him who doesnt play the TV game. It doesnt have to be Harbaugh, but i want a tough winner to put the chip back on our shoulder.

Is Mike Ditka a fine human being? What about Bill Parcells? Is Bill Belichick a nice guy first and foremost? Nagy is a quality human being. From this we get all male dance parties after every win. Im not sure head football coach is where you look for role models in human behavior. Id settle for bringing accountability, and wins.

Jim Harbaugh was a pretty good coach for the 49ers. He took a 6-10 team that hadnt finished above 8-8 in eight years and did this: 2011 (13-3) Lost NFC Championship game in overtime to the Giants 20-17 2012 (11-4-1) Lost Super Bowl to Ravens 34-31 2013 (12-4) Lost NFC Championship game to Seattle 23-17 2014 (8-8) Did not go to the playoffs. Fired after the 2014 season. QB Colin Kaepernick goes on to a record of 3-16 after Harbaugh leaves. Harbaugh's 49ers record including playoffs is 49-22-1 (68%) At Michigan, Harbaugh is 61-24 (71.8%) 2015 (10-3) Won Citrus Bowl 41-7 over Florida Gators 2016 (10-3) Lost Orange Bowl 33-32 to Florida State Seminoles 2017 (8-5) Lost Outback Bowl 26-19 to South Carolina Gamecocks 2018 (10-3) Lost Peach Bowl 41-15 to Florida Gators 2019 (9-4) Lost Citrus Bowl 35-16 to Alabama Crimson Tide 2020 (2-4) covid season 2021 (12-2) Lost Orange Bowl 34-11 to the Georgia Bulldogs Hes a good coach and a consistent winner. He brings a much needed culture of responsibility. When he loses in the NFL, it's close. In his first three years, he was a total of two wins away from appearing all three superbowls with a team that had been 6-10. Or if you prefer, he was a total of 9 points away from appearing in all three super bowls. And he has obvious Bears connections. Of course that means that he knows the ownership. Maybe he will come back to the NFL and avoid the Bears even if we offer to him. He'd know what he was avoiding if he did that. Or maybe he wants to take it on. Whatever the case is, we can already have been talking to him the whole time, because he isnt in the NFL. We could do a lot worse. Thoughts?

congratulations! Maybe consider taking this opportunity to convert her to a winning team that has good ownership? LOL Just kidding, she will be an adorable Bears fan, sharing the experience with the rest of us! Congrats again!

I dont think there is anything that would make a difference this year. The only question is does it matter if you keep Nagy or not? Does it put you behind the 8 ball on coordinator interviews? I started this thread based on Nagy's performance in that press conference. Since then, he does seem to be getting more comfortable with the idea that hes fired, so he can pilot this sinking ship for the rest of the year if we dont care about coordinator interviews. Its not what it was last week. Now it's just bad, but not psychologcally scarring. I am confident that Fields knows Nagy is gone, so I dont think Nagy can hurt him. Nagy is a fake tho.